Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Sells 1,880 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lessened its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,880 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $3,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GGG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,085,518 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,245,193,000 after buying an additional 726,245 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 874.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 440,363 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,094,000 after buying an additional 395,150 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 429.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 226,870 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,683,000 after buying an additional 184,018 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new position in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter worth $12,376,000. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 154,542.0% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 125,260 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,129,000 after buying an additional 125,179 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graco has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.25.

Graco Price Performance

GGG traded up $1.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $82.12. 753,550 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 739,491. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $90.24 and a 200 day moving average of $85.11. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.78 and a 12-month high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $492.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 23.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were given a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is 35.17%.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total value of $253,283.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,442,917.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,191,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,378 shares of company stock valued at $4,376,528. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Graco Company Profile

Graco Inc designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The Contractor segment offers sprayers to apply paint to walls and other structures; two-component proportioning systems that are used to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; and viscous coatings to roofs, as well as markings on roads, parking lots, athletic fields, and floors.